April 3, AD 33

First Things ^ | April 3, 2014 | by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Justin Taylor

[Rashputin]

April 3, AD 33

In our new book, The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived , we assume but do not argue for a precise date of Jesus’s crucifixion. Virtually all scholars believe, for various reasons, that Jesus was crucified in the spring of either a.d. 30 or a.d. 33, with the majority opting for the former. ( The evidence from astronomy narrows the possibilities to a.d. 27, 30, 33, or 34). However, we want to set forth our case for the date of Friday, April 3, a.d. 33 as the exact day that Christ died for our sins.

To be clear, the Bible does not explicitly specify the precise date of Jesus’s crucifixion and it is not an essential salvation truth. But that does not make it unknowable or unimportant. Because Christianity is a historical religion and the events of Christ’s life did take place in human history alongside other known events, it is helpful to locate Jesus’s death—as precisely as the available evidence allows—within the larger context of human history.

Among the Gospel writers, no one makes this point more strongly than Luke, the Gentile physician turned historian and inspired chronicler of early Christianity.

The Year John the Baptist’s Ministry Began

Luke implies that John the Baptist began his public ministry shortly before Jesus did, and he gives us a historical reference point for when the Baptist’s ministry began: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar . . .” (Luke 3:1).

We know from Roman historians that Tiberius succeeded Augustus as emperor and was confirmed by the Roman Senate on August 19, a.d. 14. He ruled until a.d. 37. “The fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar” sounds like a straightforward date, but there are some ambiguities, beginning with when one starts the calculation. Most likely, Tiberius’s reign was counted either from the day he took office in a.d. 14 or from January 1 of the following year, a.d. 15. The earliest possible date at which Tiberius’s “fifteenth year” began is August 19, a.d. 28, and the latest possible date at which his “fifteenth year” ended is December 31, a.d. 29. So John the Baptist’s ministry began anywhere from mid-a.d. 28 until sometime in a.d. 29.

The Year Jesus’s Ministry Began

If Jesus, as the Gospels seem to indicate, began his ministry not long after John, then based on the calculations above, the earliest date for Jesus’s baptism would be in late a.d. 28 at the very earliest. However, it is more probable to place it sometime in the first half of the year a.d. 29, because a few months probably elapsed between the beginning of John’s ministry and that of Jesus (and the year a.d. 30 is the latest possible date). So Jesus’s ministry must have begun between the end of a.d. 28 at the earliest and a.d. 30 at the latest.

This coheres with Luke’s mention that “Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age” (Luke 3:23). If he was born in 6 or 5 b.c., as is most likely, Jesus would have been approximately thirty-two to thirty-four years old in late a.d. 28 until a.d. 30, which falls well within the range of him being “about thirty years of age.”

The Length of Jesus’s Ministry

Now we need to know how long Jesus’s public ministry lasted, because if it went on for two or more years, this would seem to rule out spring of a.d. 30 as a possible date for the crucifixion.

John’s Gospel mentions that Jesus attended at least three Passovers (possibly four), which took place once a year in the spring:

• There was a Passover in Jerusalem at the start of his public ministry (John 2:13, 23).
• There was a Passover in Galilee midway through his public ministry (John 6:4).
• There was a final Passover in Jerusalem at the end of his public ministry, that is, the time of his crucifixion (John 11:55; 12:1).
• And Jesus may have attended one more Passover not recorded in John but perhaps in one or several of the Synoptic Gospels (i.e., Matthew, Mark, and Luke).

Even if there were only three Passovers, this would still make a date of a.d. 30 all but impossible for the date of the crucifixion. As noted above, the earliest likely date for the beginning of Jesus’s ministry from Luke 3:1 is late a.d. 28. So the first of these Passovers (at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry; John 2:13) would fall on Nisan 14 in a.d. 29 (because Nisan is in March/April, near the beginning of a year). The second would fall in a.d. 30 at the earliest, and the third would fall in 31 at the earliest. This means that if Jesus’s ministry coincided with at least three Passovers, and if the first Passover was in a.d. 29, he could not have been crucified in a.d. 30.

But if John the Baptist began his ministry in a.d. 29, then Jesus probably began his ministry in late a.d. 29 or early a.d. 30. Then the Passovers in John would occur on the following dates:

Nisan 14	a.d. 30	John 2:13
Nisan 14	a.d. 31	either the unnamed feast in John 5:1 or else a Passover that John does not mention (but that may be implied in the Synoptics)
Nisan 14	a.d. 32	John 6:4
Nisan 14	a.d. 33	John 11:55, the Passover at which Jesus was crucified

Jesus Was Crucified on the Day of Preparation for the Passover

John also mentions that Jesus was crucified on “the day of Preparation” (John 19:31), that is, the Friday before the Sabbath of Passover week (Mark 15:42). The night before, on Thursday evening, Jesus ate a Passover meal with the Twelve (Mark 14:12), his “Last Supper.”

In the Pharisaic-rabbinic calendar commonly used in Jesus’s day, Passover always falls on the fourteenth day of Nisan (Exodus 12:6), which begins Thursday after sundown and ends Friday at sundown. In the year a.d. 33, the most likely year of Jesus’s crucifixion, Nisan 14 fell on April 3, yielding April 3, a.d. 33, as the most likely date for the crucifixion. In The Final Days of Jesus, we therefore constructed the following chart to show the dates for Jesus’s final week in a.d. 33:

April 2	Nissan 14	Thursday (Wednesday nightfall to Thursday nightfall)	Day of Passover preparation	Last Supper
April 3	Nissan 15	Friday (Thursday nightfall to Friday nightfall)	Passover; Feast of Unleavened Bread, begins	Crucifixion
April 4	Nissan 16	Saturday (Friday nightfall to Saturday nightfall)	Sabbath
April 5	Nissan 17	Sunday (Saturday nightfall to Sunday nightfall)	First day of the week	Resurrection

Conclusion

The above calculations may appear complicated, but in a nutshell the argument runs like this:

HISTORICAL INFORMATION	YEAR
Beginning of Tiberius’s reign	a.d. 14
Fifteenth year of Tiberius’s reign: Beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry	a.d. 28
A few months later: Beginning of Jesus’s ministry	a.d. 29
Minimum three-year duration of Jesus’ ministry: Most likely date of Jesus’s crucifixion	a.d. 33 (April 3)

While this is in our judgment the most likely scenario, it should be acknowledged that many believe Jesus was crucified in the year a.d. 30, not 33. However, if the beginning of Tiberius’s reign is placed in the year a.d. 14, it is virtually impossible to accommodate fifteen years of Tiberius’s reign and three years of Jesus’ ministry between a.d. 14 and 30. For this reason, some have postulated a co-regency (joint rule) of Tiberius and Augustus during the last few years of Augustus’s reign. However, there is no reliable ancient historical evidence for such co-regency.

[one Lord one faith one baptism]

Matthew 26:28

Young’s Literal Translation
for this is my blood of the new covenant, that for many is being poured out — to remission of sins;

hmm, it seems Yeshua Himself declared it to be His blood, of the NEW COVENANT.

hope you don’t mind if i believe Yeshua?

care to answer the circumcision question?

[PhilipFreneau]

>>>Perhaps your Jesus is a Greek speaking Roman citizen. But Yah’shua is and will always be a Jewish King ruling the world from Jerusalem.<<<

My Lord is named Jesus, and he rules from heavenly New Jerusalem on heavenly mount Sion. I don’t know, nor will I ever know, the “lord” you worship.

Philip
Please write in English so us low-IQ simpletons can understand.

[PhilipFreneau]

>>>Flatlander has your number<<<

Great. Maybe he/she will give us a call sometimes.

[PhilipFreneau]

>>>must a male baby born in April 2014 be circumcised on the eighth day as required by the Torah? that can be answered either yes or no.<<<

Must? No. The Torah has no authority over humans, whatsoever; except, sadly, over those deceived into believing it has authority.

Philip

[editor-surveyor]

Glad to know that you never use study helps.

I bet that you don’t even have to read the book.

[editor-surveyor]

Satan has complete authority over all that reject Torah.

That is the difference between a child of God and the rest of the world. His elect have Torah written on their hearts.

[editor-surveyor]

>> I don’t know, nor will I ever know, the “lord” you worship. <<

.
That has become quite obvious.
.

[verga]

Glad to know that you never use study helps.

Sure Catholics use them all the time. Technically protestant Bibles shouldn't even have foot notes.

I bet that you don’t even have to read the book.

I read it everyday, so far 3 times cover to cover. And don't forget we have the right number of books, so it is more reading.

[one Lord one faith one baptism]

Philip, i knew you would answer no.

Uriel seems oddly silent for some reason, maybe he is researching it.

[editor-surveyor]

So much childish carping from catholics.

[PhilipFreneau]

>>>Satan has complete authority over all that reject Torah. That is the difference between a child of God and the rest of the world. His elect have Torah written on their hearts.<<<

So, you don’t believe in Jesus? That is sad.

[verga]

So much childish carping from ANTI-catholics.

Fixed it for you.

[editor-surveyor]

I believe in Yeshua, the son of Yehova, is that what you mean? “Jesus” is just an old English game, not his name.

If you reject his Torah, you reject him.

You’ve already told us that you don’t know him.
.

[PhilipFreneau]

>>>If you reject his Torah, you reject him.<<<

I see. So the blood Jesus shed for the new covenant—for the new testament—was in vain?

I never said I rejected the Torah. To the contrary. Moses said I must listen to Christ or be destroyed from among the people: so I listen to Christ.

Is that really that difficult for you to understand? It is written right there in the Torah?

>>>You’ve already told us that you don’t know him.<<<

I recommend you cease from making stuff up. It is unbecoming. But I will add that if you believe you must follow the Torah to follow Christ, you do not know Christ.

Philip

[editor-surveyor]

Yeshua died to confirm and RENEW his covenant.

His chief commandment is to obey all of his commandments.

Paul and James stated in the clearest of terms that only doers of his law will be justified. Do you not believe them?

John stated the direct opposite of what you say in 1John 3:

[1] Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
[2] Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
[3] And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
[4] Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
[5] And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
[6] Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
[7] Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
[8] He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
[9] Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

And in 2John 1:

[5] And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
[6] And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
[7] For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
[8] Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
[9] Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
[10] If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
[11] For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

You think that saying the "sinner's prayer" can save you?

Can you find it anywhere in God's word?

.

[Religion Moderator]

Do not make this thread "about" individual Freepers. Do not tell someone what he said, quote him.

Discuss the issues all you want, but do not make it personal.

[Uri’el-2012]

Matthew 26:28

With reasonable hermeneutics and through exegesis
Matthew 26:26-28 is understood as metaphors.

The alternative interpretation would be cannibalism.

Now that is a satanic cult.

shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach

[Uri’el-2012]

U-2012>Perhaps your Jesus is a Greek speaking Roman citizen. But Yah’shua is and will always be a Jewish King ruling the world from Jerusalem.

My Lord is named Jesus, and he rules from heavenly New Jerusalem on heavenly mount Sion. I don’t know, nor will I ever know, the “lord” you worship.

I hate to break this information to you.

But the Jewish Messiah's NAME is Yah'shua ( also known as Joshua )
later translated into Koine Greek and later translated into English.

Yah'shua in Hebrew means "YHvH is/be my salvation"

I would recommend that you use the NASB as a study Bible
Every place in the New Testament where the Torah and Tanach
are quoted it appears in all capitals. It will be eye opening.

shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach

[one Lord one faith one baptism]

when i played chess, i recall the term as checkmate.

the cultist who claims we need to be “Torah observant” today, can not/will not answer a simple yes or no question on whether a male baby born in April 2014 MUST be circumcised on the eighth day if the parents wish to do God’s will and obey His Word.

if the cultist answers yes, Paul has made it clear faith in Jesus Christ can’t help them and they must KEEP THE WHOLE LAW.
if the cultist answers no, it is a clear admission God’s will is not to be Torah observant today.

the silence speaks volumes......

[editor-surveyor]

Your words are not scripture.

You post snippets, half sentences, to twist the word to evil purpose.

Romans 2:

[12] For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;

[13] (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

[14] For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

[15] Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

Yes, that does indeed say that we must keep the whole law, so why do you say that as if it were a remarkable thing?

Where would you get the idea that it is "Gods will" that we not be observant of his commandments today?